IT newsletter hits 5-year milestone, takes holiday break
by B. Edwards, Information Technology Assistance Center
published Dec. 19, 2006
The balloons in the newsletter logo above quietly celebrate InfoTech Tuesday's
five years of publication. From its inception in December 2001, the newsletter grew to 381 subscribers in August 2002,
to 650 in January 2004, to a current tally of 5,934 as of Dec. 18.
For more numbers over the years, see InfoTech Tuesday stats below.
As usual, InfoTech Tuesday is not published during the holiday break, so there will be no Dec. 26 issue.
Publication resumes Tuesday, Jan. 2, 2007. News items should be sent by 8 a.m. that day to
TellTuesday@k-state.edu.
IT happenings over the holiday break
by the editors, InfoTech Tuesday
published Dec. 19, 2006
See K-State's holiday schedule
for a list of offices that are providing services during the December-January winter break.
Also during that time, IT projects in the works include:
- university computing lab upgrades
- technology classroom upgrades
- central web server upgrade
- central e-mail IMAP server upgrade
- IT Help Desk move to Hale 214
- Media Development Center move to Hale 213/213A
- Optio EComPresent (an electronic report system) goes into production for use by FIS users
- eProfile website upgrade
- maintenance release of Axio 2.1
K-Staters: Delay installation of Windows Vista
by H. Townsend. interim IT security officer
published Dec. 19, 2006
Microsoft is in the midst of releasing its next generation of a desktop
operating system, Windows Vista. While some technical staff
are testing Vista now, it will not be available to the consumer market until late January or early February. However,
some PC vendors, including Dell and Gateway, are already offering certificates for a free upgrade to Vista when you
buy a new computer, so people need to consider their options now.
From a security perspective, Windows Vista is a significant improvement over previous versions of Windows. However,
Trend Micro does not currently have a supported version of OfficeScan security software available for Vista.
K-Staters must delay deploying Vista on the K-State campus until Trend Micro releases compatible software
(projected timeframe is March-May 2007),
since running Vista without the university-supplied antivirus software would leave your computer vulnerable and
violate K-State IT policy.
In addition, K-Staters need to consider which of the five different versions of Vista to install
-- Home Basic, Home Premium, Business, Enterprise, or Ultimate. Because of security requirements at K-State,
SIRT recommends:
- The Business version or better for all campus computers.
- Home Premium or better for personal/home use.
The user interface in Windows Vista is also substantially different from Windows XP, so take that into consideration as you
develop your Windows Vista strategy.
To help departments develop their plans for Vista, SIRT has invited Microsoft representatives to campus to share
information and answer questions about Windows Vista. They tentatively plan to be here for a full-day during the week
of Jan. 22. Watch InfoTech Tuesday for more details.
SIRT and K-State IT staff will monitor the situation and provide an update in InfoTech Tuesday in January.
In the meantime, talk to your IT support staff to find out the plans for your department, college, or unit...and
do not install Vista.
January IT training now open for registration
by C. Rodriguez, Information Technology Assistance Center
published Dec. 19, 2006
Kickoff the new year by brushing up on your IT skills. iTAC's
January IT training calendar is now online. All classes are
free for K-State faculty, staff, and graduate students, but
require pre-registration. Details will be listed on the
individual registration pages. Courses include:
- Various K-State Online Courses
- Dreamweaver Exchange
- K-State Calendar
- Microsoft Access: Searching and Querying for Your Data
IT Help Desk to stay open during move to Hale 214
by B. Edwards, Information Technology Assistance Center
published Dec. 19, 2006
Over the holiday break, the IT Help Desk is moving from Hale 313 to its new location on the second floor of Hale Library --
to Room 214, which is northwest of the main InfoCommons area.
The help desk will be open throughout the move, but some services may be temporarily limited to specific locations or timeframes.
The office's holiday schedule is posted on the help desk homepage.
- Computer help is at Hale 313 Dec. 18-26.
Starting Dec. 27, K-Staters should go to Hale 214 for assistance.
- CatPack CDs can be picked up at Hale 313 as usual Dec. 18-26, and thereafter at Hale 214.
The free CDs are also available at the Union Computer Store during its regular hours.
- Checkout of media or computer equipment is closed Dec. 18 through Jan. 7, 2007.
Starting Jan. 8, checkout will resume and will be handled in Hale 214.
The Media Development Center is also in the middle of
moving, and will be located in an adjacent space on the second floor. The center is closed Dec. 16
through Jan. 7, 2007. It will reopen Jan. 8 in its new space in Hale 213.
Grinter named ISO interim associate director
by J. Streeter, Information Systems Office
published Dec. 12, 2006
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ISO databases support these and more:
K-State Online
FIS
Budget
HRIS
KATS
SIS
FAMS
BRS
DARS
RETORIC
FAMIS
Parking Services
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Effective Dec. 3, Mark Grinter
was named interim associate director of the Information Systems Office
for Database Management Services, to help build that area over the next 12-18 months. Rapid growth in the number of applications and
databases supported, plus recent turnover in key leadership positions in this technical services area,
have created the need for his technical knowledge and proven leadership ability.
Previously, he has served as assistant director for Facilities and Financial Systems.
Grinter will work with customers and staff to ensure that the security, integrity, and availability
of all centrally administered databases meet the needs of the university. The databases support all of
the major university applications (see adjacent list) and more, including
the new Student Information System (iSIS) being implemented for fall 2008 by the LASER Project Team.
These applications and databases are continuously undergoing enhancement and upgrades to keep pace with
changes in the information technologies and the needs of the university.
Grinter can be reached at grinter@k-state.edu, 785-532-4772.
Security tip: Hackers targeting Microsoft Word vulnerabilities
by H. Townsend. interim IT security officer
published Dec. 19, 2006
Over the last two weeks, Microsoft announced two security vulnerabilities in Microsoft Word
that are being exploited by malicious code on the Internet. These "zero-day exploits," as they
are called (see the definition below), allow a hacker to gain control of a computer when an
infected Word document is opened. No patch is available yet from Microsoft.
Microsoft advises users to "always exercise extreme caution when opening unsolicited attachments
from both known and unknown sources," which is good advice. This also applies to websites that try
to lure you into clicking on a link that downloads or opens an infected Word document. Microsoft
further advises that you "do not open or save Word files that you receive from un-trusted sources
or that you receive unexpectedly from trusted sources."
You should also make sure you patch Microsoft Office software as well as the Windows operating system.
Although Microsoft has not yet released patches for these two most recent vulnerabilities, other patches
are available for Microsoft Office, and for Microsoft Word specifically, to fix many other known vulnerabilities.
See the following security advisories for more details on these new Microsoft Word vulnerabilities:
- Vulnerability in Microsoft Word Could Allow Remote Code Execution (Microsoft Security Advisory 929433)
- Public Exploit Code Available for a Vulnerability in Microsoft Word (US-CERT)
As best as we can tell at this time, neither Trend Micro nor Symantec antivirus software can detect
these exploits. Also, we are not aware of any K-State incidents of Word documents rigged with the code
that exploits either of these vulnerabilities, but that does not mean you can relax. You don't want to be
the person who introduces the exploit to the campus!
For the curious, a "zero-day exploit" is a malicious computer program (i.e., "malware") that's released
before or on the same day as the announcement of the vulnerability it exploits or the release of the patch
that fixes the vulnerability. Thus, there are "zero days" between the time the public hears about the vulnerability
and the time the malware is making its rounds on the Internet.
IT by the numbers: InfoTech Tuesday stats
by B. Edwards, Information Technology Assistance Center
published Dec. 19, 2006
Numbers compiled from five years of publishing the InfoTech Tuesday newsletter:
- 50 issues published per year, on average
- 252 total issues published (Dec. 4, 2001-Dec. 19, 2006)
- 2,147 total articles (including 10 in this issue)
- earliest publication time was 9:03 a.m. Tuesday, June 4, 2002
- latest publication time was 11:57 p.m. Tuesday, June 28, 2005
- 5,934 subscribers as of Dec. 18 (according to LISTSERV)
More than 4,600 subscribers were added in November 2005 due
to an executive decision to auto-subscribe all K-State faculty/staff. Since then, about 70 people have
unsubscribed, including an estimated one percent of faculty/staff.
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